Writing good narratives and stories are essential for the college essay. Here is another great story that helps the college board get to know a student’s writing ability and his experience:

Isolation in the Crowd – by William

“The Buddha said: Isolation is the world’s great misery. In an increasingly complex world, we feel overwhelmed, discouraged, and more and more alone.” -Rev. Wayne Muller

I stand on the precipice of this underworld; this world of screeching steel and gateways to other journeys. Often known as the subway, I await the vessel that will take me to my destination as its spinning, metal feet grind to a halt. As the doors of the car spread open like curtains on a sunny morning, I anticipate a change as I pass through this gateway of voyages. Thus, I passed from one world to the next. I noticed the contrasts, yet too many traits remained familiar.

As the metal beast rumbles, I wait in active silence. Others wait for their destinations to arrive as well. But I, instead of the haste that drives others, feel no impatience and in my patience, I see the taps of each person’s thumbs. I notice the eyes subtly following the lines of their phone’s information on the latest celebrity break-up. However, I observe most poignantly that the face never rises. Like the train that we ride, they charge towards their objectives. But, unlike the trains, they fail to pull stops, even if the platform was filled with waving admirers.
And so the admirer waves as a friend races by, but the eyes face forward, away from the warm gaze. Thus begins the cycle of depression: the warmth of fanfare within the eyes of the platform flickers, as the widening eyes expand into the dark pits of betrayal. Within those pits lay the seeds of despair and rage, and they require only pain as the fuel for their growth. Their roots reach out through the turmoil of the suffering. From that, they will sprout the fruits of hollow despair, and despair will emit dark clouds that blind the vision. Eventually, that vision will see only the darkness of isolation; a darkness that will steal the will to ever say, “I love you,” no matter how often others say it.
Yet, in the darkness of insanity, in the Hell that had become my life, I found salvation in Light. One could describe it as Heaven’s light, for when I recall my journeys to the haven of Omnipotence, my sanity returned each time. And so I became enlightened, and understood from my pain that to climb out alone is an impossible task. But with help from above, one finds opportunity in impossibility. This lecture from Life rings true to me still, and it will ultimately shine brighter than any knowledge from a book’s white pages, or the text of a glowing blue webpage. I learned to understand my limitations, but the knowledge of when to transcend them is the truth of the lesson. To take the first step in offering one’s hand is a manner of behavior rarely witnessed now, but when the gesture is finally made, it will ultimately lead to a reward that cannot be found any other way. However, in light of my suffering, and the wisdom I gained, I still conclude that one should never endure such trauma so young.

The gates open once more, and I step towards the place that I call my own. On the precipice of this underworld, my back turned to the train, the others depart, as I stand with the wind whipping my coat tails high. As the metal beast roars away, I turn to their echoes and recall the apathetic gazes of the men and women aboard. I recall my past, and how I became my present-self. I recall my pain, and how I eventually overcame it. My resolve became strong to help the next generation learn of the bonds that heal the soul. My heart vowed to ensure that fewer people should endure the pain that I had been burdened with. My hope is that we may usher a Renaissance of Reform, and that the generations to come will be spared the dark clouds of isolation.